18G0. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



299 



part elevated into the upper soil, while the por- 

 tion of the crop removed is more nearly renewed 

 by liberating new quantities over greater depths, 

 than if the soil were cultivated on the shallow 

 sj^stem. 



Every fact, empirical and scientific, goes to 

 prove that deep tillage renders the addition of 

 less quantities of mineral fertilizers adequate to 

 produce crops. — Wo7'king Fanner. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FALSE ESTIMATES— HEN LICE. 



Mr. Editor : — You have often noticed the 

 proneness of men to be looking after, and admii-- 

 ing great things. He who studies the character 

 and habits of the lion, the leopard, or tiger, is 

 engaged in a lofty and honorable pursuit. The 

 king of beasts ; who would not be proud of the 

 achievement, could he but slay a single specimen ? 

 Who would not consider a place among those 

 gathered to see the noble slain, a place of honor .^ 

 But the man, can he be a man, who is seen look- 

 ing after bugs, and flies, and lice, who devotes 

 time to such an insignificant, childish purpose, is 

 viewed by the mass of his fellows as trifling with 

 his existence. 



But what, sir, would be his position as a bene- 

 factor of his race, who should penetrate every jun- 

 gle on our globe, and destroy the best lion that 

 has made such his retreat, compared with his who 

 should destroy the wheat-fly, or midge-maker, an 

 insect so small that a score placed in the balance 

 against one hair of the lion's mane, would kick 

 the beam. The roar of the lion may frighten a 

 fine bushman, but the appearance of the fly caus- 

 es a nation to tremble. 



But my subject, when measured by might or 

 bulk, is not the formidable giant, that he may be 

 compared with the fly, the bug, or the flea, but is 

 an animal so small that were you to put a gross of 

 them on the tail of a flea, it would scarcely make 

 it droop, or shorten the length of his jump by a 

 single line. And yet, as the skull-caps of the 

 animalcula? form masses of rocks, as the coral in- 

 sect builds islands in the ocean, and reefs on its 

 coasts, as moments make the whole cycle of time, 

 so then hen lice, when aggregated, will make an 

 extension, and give a visual angle which the hu- 

 man eye can appreciate; yea, more, will cover 

 the whole surface of the perches on which your 

 hens roost, will fill to overflowing every crack and 

 corner of your henery ; will cover you if you go 

 into it, and will bite you, if you have not the skin 

 of a Packadermata, most killingly. 



Permit me to give you a little personal experi- 

 ence with these scamps. I had last spring about 

 adoz::'n hens. Their apartment was in the corner 

 of the barn, was about eleven feet long, four wide, 

 and eight high ; enclosed on all sides with matched 

 spruce boards, with a twelve light window in the 

 south side. The floor above was not matched. 

 Within was a box of dry ashes, nest boxes, etc. 

 Report came that the hens were troubled with 

 lice. Without examining at once to determine 

 the extent of the mischief, directions were given 

 to mingle sulphur with their food. Soon it was 

 said that the nests and eggs gave lice to those 

 who went to them. A thorough examination was 

 made ; there were more animals on a perch four 



feet long, and three inches in diameter, than there 

 are men, women and children on this globe ; so 

 we believe ; and every part of the room was thor- 

 oughly stocked, and yet there were but few to be 

 found on the hens. 



Now for war. Bought one pound of sulphur, 

 and four pounds of the leaf stem of tobacco ; set 

 in the henery a tub with some water in it as a 

 guard against fire, and in the tub an iron pot with 

 some coals ; filled the pot with tlie tobacco, and 

 sprinkled on the tobacco three or four ounces of 

 sulphur, and shut the door. After this had burnt 

 out, and the fogo had so far disappeared that ad- 

 mission could be gained, we re-filled the pot with 

 tobacco and sulphur, and gave them another dose. 

 This over, the premises were examined. The lice 

 had been warmed up just enough to make them 

 livel)'. Not even a cough or a sneeze was heard 

 among them. This was, therefore, a failure. The 

 floor above, and all the boxes, and movables with- 

 in were then removed, and purified by fire, and 

 the room drenched with boiling water oft repeat- 

 ed. This thinned the ranks, but was not eflectu- 

 al. The next step was to add to a thorough use 

 of hot water, a profuse sprinkling with dry ashes, 

 while the walls were yet dripping. This was re- 

 peated from time to time for one or two weeks. 

 The victory was complete ; harmony being re- 

 stored both to the henery and the kitchen. In- 

 ference No. 1, Never despise small things. In- 

 ference No. 2, Let your henery be plastered, and 

 often whitewashed. Inference No. 3, Give your 

 hens from time to time a little sulphur in their 

 food. Reed. 



Pittsjidd, Mass., 1859. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE POTATO ROT. 



Mr. Editor : — There has been no lack of hy- 

 potheses, and arguments most ingenious and 

 plausible have been framed in relation to this dis- 

 ease, but the whole subject has been so thoroughly 

 discussed in every aspect and guise that it would 

 seem a vain attempt to seek to search the cause. 

 Professor Bolljian, a Russian Councillor cf 

 State, has published a jvork on the prevention c f 

 potato rot. He discovered accidentally, and has 

 subscquentl} verified by experiment the fact, tht.t 

 seed potatoes, thoroughly dried, will produc ; 

 a sound crop. Mr. Bollman's room in which his 

 first potatoes were dried was heated to about 72°. 

 By way of experiment, he placed others in the 

 chamber of the stove itself, where the thermome- 

 ter stood at 135°. It has been ascertained that 

 previous to the final decay the specific gravity of 

 the diseased potato becomes one-third more than 

 that of the healthy tuber, on account of the water 

 it contains ; when submitted to a dry heat of 200° 

 it loses its moisture, and the progress of decay is 

 retarded, if it be not stopped. 



I was conversing with one of our farmers a 

 short time since in relation to potato rot and the 

 drying process. He said for nine years in suc- 

 cession he had practiced cutting off the seed end 

 sometime previous to planting and drying them 

 thoroughly ; when ready to plant he dropped from 

 four to seven in a hill, and he has had no rotten 

 potatoes since he adopted this method. He usu- 

 ally plants the early kinds. J. w. 



